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Guns Versus Butter
02/04/2002
Sunday, on ABC's This Week, Sam Donaldson made no secret of his disdain for military spending. His guest, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, repeated his warning that the U.S. remains at risk of a terrorist attack.
Donaldson: "Some cynics believe, of course, when you were saying that you were tying it to the increase in the defense budget."
Rumsfeld: "Oh, that's -"
Donaldson: "I understand these people in Washington, they say the darndest things."
Rumsfeld: "There's the understatement."
Donaldson: "Let me just say that you requested, the President, a $48 billion increase in defense budget in the next fiscal year and over a five year period up to $51 billion, that's where it would be. That's a $120 billion increase. Now the old question of guns versus butter then arises. Let me just show a chart of some of the cuts we understand the President is asking in domestic programs: $9 billion cut in highway programs, a freeze in the Army Corps of Engineers projects, a cut of $180 million from a youth jobs program, perhaps a cut of an additional $620 million in state grants for training and education. And, the critics will say, all to pay for an expanded defense budget."
Rumsfeld: "The reality is that the United States is now spending about three percent of our gross national product on defense. Back in the Kennedy and Eisenhower period it was closer to ten percent, in the Ford period it was around five percent of our gross national product. Today it is about three percent . . ."
Certainly, if President Clinton hadn't spent his eight years in office eviscerating and emasculating the armed forces, there would be little need for huge spending increases at this point.
We have become painfully aware that many outside forces would delight in destroying our freedom and prosperity. A strong, well-trained military force is what it takes to protect our way of life. Join me in sending a message to Donaldson: "Butter is great, but sometimes a gun are the right tool for the job."
Below is the contact information:
ABC
77 West 66th Street
New York, New York 10023
Phone 212-456-7777
FAX 212-456-4292
This Week contact page
Read more here:
MRC CyberAlert, 02/04/2002
When you feel your personal media bias tolerance gauge rising into
the red zone, don't throw stuff at the TV screen! Send your suggestion
to outrage@fairpress.org! Each week, one hideous example of media
bias will be selected for closer examination. Hmmmmmm . . .
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